Abstract: This collection consists of primary sources (mostly copies) and notes that Betty Forsyth (d. 2006) compiled on the Daniel
Freeman family, their Rancho Centinela, and local towns, such as Inglewood, California.

Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
Spanish

Access

Collection is open to research under the terms of use of the Department of Archives and Special Collections, Loyola Marymount
University.

Publication Rights

Materials in the Department of Archives and Special Collections may be subject to copyright. Unless explicitly stated otherwise,
Loyola Marymount University does not claim ownership of the copyright of any materials in its collections. The user or publisher
must secure permission to publish from the copyright owner. Loyola Marymount University does not assume any responsibility
for infringement of copyright or of publication rights held by the original author or artists or his/her heirs, assigns, or
executors.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Series number, Box and Folder number, Documents for the History of the Daniel Freeman Family and
the Rancho Centinela, CSLA-33, Department of Archives and Special Collections, William H. Hannon Library, Loyola Marymount
University.

Acquisition Information

Forsyth family gift. Accession number: 2006.27

Biography

The Canadian businessman and lawyer Daniel Freeman (d. 1918) came with his family to Los Angeles area in 1873, where the Rancho
Centinela became the center of the family's fortune. His wife Catherine leased the Ranchos Aguaje de la Centinela and Sausal
Redondo from Sir Robert Burnett of Scotland in 1873--the name Rancho Centinela was that given to the combination of the two
ranchos under their joint ownership by Sir Robert. During Mexican rule in California the ranches had been owned by members
of the Avila and Machado families. After his wife's death in 1874, Daniel Freeman assumed the lease, eventually buying the
ranchos. The Centinela Adobe was the well-known ranch house of Freeman's rancho. From his rancho holdings came the foundation
of Daniel Freeman's business interests, and from them the town of Inglewood would also be birthed, with his indirect involvement.

Collection Description

Betty Forsyth (d. 2006), of Manhattan Beach, was an active member of the Centinela Valley Historical Society, an organization
concerned with the local history of Westchester, California, El Segundo, California, and Inglewood California. During the
over twenty year association with this organization Ms. Forsyth collected primary sources, mostly copies, related to these
area's early history, especially the Ranchos Centinela and la Ballona, and the families most intimately acquainted with them,
the Machados and the Freemans. On her death, her family donated these materials to Loyola Marymount University, with Mike
Engh, S. J., serving as the intermediary. The materials were divided into two collections based on subject matter, one of
which is this collection on the Daniel Freeman family and their Rancho Centinela, CSLA-33: Documents for the History of the
Daniel Freeman Family and the Rancho Centinela.

CSLA-33 consists of materials related to the family history of the Daniel Freeman family; the family's ranch, the Rancho Centinela;
Freeman business enterprises; and the local towns which grew around and on the rancho. The Canadian businessman and lawyer
Daniel Freeman (1918) came with his family to Los Angeles area in 1873, where the Rancho Centinela became the center of the
family's fortune. His wife Catherine leased the Ranchos Aguaje de la Centinela and Sausal Redondo from Sir Robert Burnett
of Scotland in 1873--the name Rancho Centinela was that given to the combination of the two ranchos under their joint ownership
by Sir Robert. (During Mexican rule in California the ranches had been owned by members of the Avila and Machado families.)
After his wife's death in 1874, Daniel Freeman assumed the lease, eventually buying the ranchos. The Centinela Adobe was the
well-known ranch house of Freeman's rancho. From his rancho holdings came the foundation of Daniel Freeman's business interests,
and from them the town of Inglewood would also be birthed, with his indirect involvement.

Genealogies, newspaper and journal articles, photographs, personal reminiscences, research notes, and business records make
up the collection. Much material is copies that Betty Forsyth made for her research and for the records of the Centinela Valley
Historical Society. This is especially true of photographs and of business records. Thus, in the box and folder list, the
date given is that for the original source from which copies were made.

Arrangement

The holdings of the Freeman Family and Rancho Centinela collection have been organized according to subject matter or topic
into series, each with a box and folder list providing indices to the series' holdings. The original order of the materials
was not clearly discernible.

Series 1: Daniel Freeman Family Records

Series 2: Freeman Business Companies and Related Companies

Series 3: Rancho Centinela and Centinela Adobe

Series 4: Cities

Series 5: Research Notes and Miscellany

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.

Box and Folder List

Series 1:
Freeman Family Records1873-1995 (dates of originals)

Physical Description: 11 folders, 3 oversize folders

Series Description

This series holds materials on the history of Daniel Freeman's family, including Daniel himself; his children, Grace (1870-1956),
Archibald (1867-1931), and Charles (1868-1906); and his son-in-law, Charles Howland (1863-1934), husband of Grace. Of interest
are family genealogies, including one prepared by Gustave Anjou in 1901 expressly for Daniel Freeman. Also of value are the
wills of Daniel Freeman, Catherine Freeman, and Grace Freeman Howland in this series, for they record not only the initial
disposition of Freeman property (by Catherine, Daniel's wife) but also the last (by Grace, his daughter). There is also some
business correspondence of Daniel Freeman, as well as a lease from Catherine Freeman to José Dolores Machado. Information
on Grace and Charles Howland comes from correspondence between Betty Forsyth and Howland family relatives containing family
reminiscences that they wrote expressly for Betty Forsyth.

Photograph (copy) of interior of Grace Freeman Howland’s room at Freeman mansion; copies of photographs of Grace Freeman Howland
and interiors of Centinela Adobe; copies of photographs of Charles Howland and sister Amy in car. From "Freeman-Howland Families"
folder
undated

Box 1 ov , Folder 1

Photograph of "Centinela", family home of Daniel Freeman 1900(?)

Box 1 ov , Folder 2

Photograph on panel card of the Visitation graduating class of 1914. Ynez Freeman, daughter of Archibald Freeman and granddaughter
of Daniel Freeman, in class. Inscription on back of panel card: "77th Annual Commencement. To Dear Grandfather With love
from Ynez The Visitation Class of 1914."
1914

Box 1 ov , Folder 3

Sketches of the Freeman mansion "Centinela" for the American Architect and Building News; sketch of Freeman College of Applied
Sciences
1889

This series contains materials on both the private and public businesses of Daniel Freeman, as well as companies related to
the development of the area. Most of these materials are photostatic copies or else photocopies. The companies with which
Daniel Freeman was associated include the Centinela Land Company and the Centinela-Inglewood Land Company, created to develop
the Rancho Centinela. The latter was formed in 1875, although unsuccessful in its goals of development. Records of interest
include the articles of incorporation and Daniel Freeman’s agreement to buy the shares of the company from a "Compton," perhaps
Griffith Compton. A later Centinela Land Company, unrelated to the Freemans, was formed in 1912, and its articles of incorporation
can be found in Box 1, Folder 14. Records of the Centinela-Inglewood Land Company (1887), which Freeman did not own or directly
participate in as a director, consist of the articles of incorporation and a sales contract. This company was responsible
for the establishment of Inglewood, and information on its land office there can be found in Box 1, Folder 18. Publicity was
important in promoting land development, and booklets and articles in this regard are found in this series. The articles of
incorporation and other legal documents of the Redondo Beach Railway Company, which helped in the development of the Inglewood
area, are found in this series.

Photographs, notes, articles, Centinela Valley Historical Society meeting minutes re Daniel Freeman land company office; includes
photographs of Inglewood, California, railroad station, and aerial view of the "Centinela" on the grounds of the Daniel Freeman
Hospital. Separated from notebook
1975

Box 4

Respondents’ briefs and transcripts on appeal for case of W. L. Archer vs. Daniel Freeman and the Centinela-Inglewood Land
Company
1896

Box 5

Daniel Freeman ledger recording cash payments1867-1888

Box 1 ov, Folder 4

Article from "Resources of Southern California" (1902) re the Centinela and Inglewood; Articles from "The People at Work"
re development in Inglewood, including the Continuous Brick Kiln Company
1895-1896, 1902

Articles, research notes, photographs, and genealogical and biographical information on owners of the Rancho Centinela and
the Centinela Adobe are the foundation of this series. The owners found in this series include the Machado and Avila families,
Joseph Lancaster Brent, and Sir Robert Burnett. There is also a run of photocopies of transcriptions in English of Spanish
language documents (
expedientes) detailing the legal actions between the Avila and Machado families over the possession of the Rancho Aguaje de la Centinela
in the 1830s and the 1840s. The documents include maps (
diseños) of the ranchos and surrounding properties. The originals of the translations are found in the California State Archives.

Also found in this series are articles on the Centinela Adobe, the ranch house of the Centinela Adobe, as well as the photographs
of both the exterior and the interior of the Centinela Adobe from the twentieth century. There are also the reminiscences
of Martha Crawford about her life in the adobe from the 1920s until 1945.

Expediente 394: Ignacio Machado petition and supporting documents, and government responses re dispute over Aguaje de la
Centinela with Jose Avila. Transcriptions in cursive from register of English translations of original documents in Spanish.
2 copies.
1844

Box 1 ov , Folder 7

Expediente 382: Documents and government responses re Machado/ Avila dispute over Aguaje de la Centinela. Transcriptions
in cursive from register of English translations of original documents in Spanish. 2 copies (prints from microfilm negative?)
1844

Box 1 ov , Folder 8

Expediente 82: Anastacio Avila's petition for Tajanta. Transcriptions in cursive from register of English translations of
original documents in Spanish. 2 copies (prints from microfilm negative?)
1843

Box 1 ov , Folder 9

Expediente 337: Petition and supporting documents, and government responses re Machado/Avila dispute over the Aguaje de la
Centinela. Transcriptions in cursive from register of English translations of original documents in Spanish. 2 copies prints
from microfilm negative
1837

Box 1 ov , Folder 10

Expediente 567: Antonio F. Coronel petition and government responses re "Rancho of Centinela." Transcriptions in cursive
from register of English translations of original documents in Spanish. 2 copies (prints from microfilm negative?)
1846

A number of cities developed from or around the Rancho Centinela. Betty Forsyth collected materials on their history, including
newspaper clippings on the development of Inglewood. These clippings are found in a scrapbook or else as photocopies, originals,
or as transcriptions by Betty Forsyth; the latter category includes transcriptions from the Ingelwood Star. Local histories
of Hawthorne and Inglewood also provide some information on these two cities. In addition there are photographs of early sites
in Inglewood, such as the post office, as well as a number of pamphlets on Inglewood churches.

Pamphlets re history of First Presbyterian and Episcopal Church of the Holy Faith and W. W. Robinson. "Inglewood. A Calendar
of Events in the Making of a City." Centinela Valley Historical Society pamphlets (2 of 2)
1955, 1961

Box 3, Folder 6

Bell System telephone directory for Inglewood, El Segundo, and Hawthorne1926

Scrapbook with newspaper clippings (some loose) on Inglewood history and death of Grace Freeman Howland1950

Flat File

Inglewood Fairview Gazette1926

Series 5:
Research Notes and Miscellany1897-1978

Physical Description: 3 archival document boxes, 1 folder

Series Description

During the course of her research, Betty Forsyth compiled notes on the history of Inglewood, the ranchos, and the Freeman
and Machado families. These notes (all on 3x5 inch note cards) have information ranging from the names of and information
on early Inglewood pioneers to furniture in the Adobe Centinela to the activities of the Centinela Valley Historical Society.
A folder with miscellaneous publications rounds out the holdings of this series